Barling’s Pre-Transition Guinea Grain EL Smooth Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

B. Barling and Sons was originally founded in 1812 by Benjamin Barling and began as a family business making silver-adorned meerschaum pipes. In the early 20th century, however, the Barling family began to produce what the brand is today most famous for – expertly made briar pipes.

As Barling historians such as Jesse Silver, Jonathan Guss, and Tad Gage have noted, identifying the most coveted Barling pipes—those being the “family era” pipes made by the Barling family themselves while they still owned the B. Barling and Sons company—is largely a question of nomenclature. Of all the pipes made during the family era of Barling’s production, almost every single one is stamped with the iconic, arched “BARLING’S” over “MAKE” branding. I say almost because there is one significant exception to the rule: the Guinea Grain. As Tad Gage has documented, The Guinea Grain was first introduced in 1953, around 7 years before the Barling family sold their company to British tobacconist Finlay’s (while staying on for approximately 2 more years as production managers). These pipes were, per gage, “something between a flame grain and a straight grain,” with a special finish that highlighted this superior graining.

The Guinea Grain continued production even after 1962, when the Barlings not only did not own the family company, but had been ousted from their roles in the management or production of its pipes. In fact, German pipe distributor Kopp currently owns the Barling name and sells a Barling Guinea Grain of its own. So, how are we to differentiate between Guinea Grains produced under the watch of the Barling family and those iterations following the Barlings’ ouster? Thankfully, the aforementioned Barling historians have figured this one out. The clearest indication of the former is, as with other pipes made by the Barling family, the nomenclature, but slightly different: the Barling family’s pipes were stamped “Barling’s” over “GUINEA GRAIN REGD.”, with the latter gesturing at the registration of the Guinea Grain trademark/patent. Guinea Grains made in the “post-transition” era, in which the Barling family no longer maintained any role in the company, were not stamped with either the possessive Barling’s nomenclature, nor the trademark/patent reference. In other words, this particular Guinea Grain comes from the between 1953 and the very beginnings of the 1960s, and is a beautiful specimen of the Barling family’s work. Then again, most of the pipes they made are.

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening and some wear to the finish on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 6.3″ / 160.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.61″ / 40.89mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g